Regions

Cities

Tsagan Aman — located on the Volga River, Tsagan Aman is a popular fishing area and a fast developing spa-resort

Zundi Tolgi

Other destinations

Yashalta Salt Lake — located between Berezovoe and Solenoye villages of Yashalta district, it is known in Kalmykia for its therapeutic values. The administration of Yashalta district and republican authorities are planning to open a balneo-resort on Yashalta Salt Lake.

Chess-City — an administrative unit within Elista, it often serves as a venue for multiple international chess events. The Chess-City complex also hosts meetings of Russian state officials as well as Russian school olympiads.

"Black Lands" Biosphere Reserve — a nature reserve situated on the territory of Chernozemelsky and Yashkulsky districts. It is a refuge for ancient saiga antelopes.

Lola Horse Farm — situated not far from Elista in the quiet village of Lola — produces kumys (see Drink). During the Soviet era, this horse farm and adjoining clinic for respiratory treatment was very popular among communist party bosses, who traveled from Moscow, Saint Petersburg and from other far-way places in Soviet Union.

Khurul Monastery — a Buddhist Monastery located about 6 km north east of Elista.

The Ergeni Hills are located in the northern part of Kalmykia. Different from the sandy dunes and steppe regions of central and eastern part, the Ergeni Hills are the only placew to find some woods in the republic. Ergeni landscape area is filled with numerous heights, ravines, spring streams, and water-bearing sands. Popular for its mineral medicinal and fresh sobsoil waters, the Ergeni Hills are also home to endangered fish species and Kalmyk medicinal plants. In addition, it is the highest point in the republic which rises to 218 metres above the sea level.

The Sarpa Lakes — right next to the Ergeni Hills, in the north-central part of Kalmykia freshwater lakes called the Sarpa are dispersed. The Sarpa Lakes include lake of Sarpa 42,6 sq.km, lake Barmanzak 25,8 sq.km, lake Tsagan-Nur 23,5 sq.km, and lake Batur-Mala 21,9 sq.km. Not only it is a picturesque wild scenery of Kalmyk flora and fauna, but also a perfect place for hunting and fishing.

Understand

The Western Mongol Kalmyks, also known as Oirats, migrated across Central Asia from an ancestral home around Xinjiang, China and southeastern Kazakhstan and eventually arrived in Southern Russia, displacing the Tatars of the Astrakhan Khanate. Originally an independent khanate, Kalmykia's independence was slowly chipped away and it was eventually assimilated into the Russian Empire.

As more than half of Kalmyks are followers of Tibetan Buddhism, the country is often referred to as the only Buddhist country in Europe. Sadly, nearly all of Kalmykia's beautiful khuruls (Kalmyk Buddhist temples) were demolished under Stalin's massive campaign of cultural vandalism. In an act of genocide during WWII, Stalin deported the entire population of Kalmyks toKazakhstan and Siberia. The imported Russians then intensified the desertification caused by collectivisation and inappropriate agriculture. Those Kalmyks who survived the brutal deportation and exile were finally allowed to return home in 1957, under Khruschev. But despite these hardships, Kalmykia's khuruls are being rebuilt, and the people remain, and merit a visit.

Present day Kalmykia garners some press attention for the excesses of its flamboyant and dictatorial president Ilyumzhinov. Ilyumzhinov, a former Kalmyk statesman in the USSR and president of the World Chess Federation, has led Kalmykia since the break up of the Soviet Union, but has so far failed to deliver on rather grandiose promises to turn Kalmykia into a "Caspian Kuwait" in which there would be "a cell phone for every shepherd." He has, however, turned Elista into the claimed chess capital of the world by building a small district of Elista known as "City Chess" and by hosting successive chess championships in the capital.

Now one of Europe's poorest and most underdeveloped regions with a crumbling infrastructure, Kalmykia was once a land of fertile if fragile steppe whose black soil was cherished by the herdsmen. Soviet times changed all that. The land was ploughed and intensive grazing became the norm. Much of the steppe has now turned to desert. Livestock raising remains the main economic activity and there is also some fishing and arable farming.

Talk

Although the native language of the Kalmyk majority is Kalmyk (western Mongolian), it is mainly older people who are fluent, due to the effects of the 1944-57 deportation of the Kalmyks and the virtual destruction of their cultural cohesion. Nowadays just a few villages are mainly Kalmyk-speaking by all generations. Russian is spoken and understood everywhere - although not spoken by some of the very oldest Kalmyks.

Get in

The Republic of Kalmykia is currently a part of the Russian Federation. Therefore, when planning your trip to Kalmykia, you should apply for Russian visa.

By plane

The Elista airport is temporarily closed due to non-compliance with technical requirements of Russian Airlines Committee. Most likely, it will undergo the procedure of bankruptcy before being opened by new private owner first half of 2007.

Thus, travelers have two options to get to Elista by plane: via Astrakhan or Volgograd airports.

By train

The Moscow-Elista train route goes through Stavropol. However, the most convenient way is travel to Volgograd by train then on to Elista by an express minibus (marshrutka), which are cheap.

By car

By bus

Several private companies operate a daily bus service between Moscow and Elista. The pickup point in Moscow is Luzhniki Stadium. A one-way ticket costs about 1000RUR.

By boat

Get around

See

Itineraries

In addition to the sights within the present reduced boundaries of the Republic of Kalmykia, worth visiting in Astrakhan oblast is one of the few remaining pre-revolutionary Buddhist Temples (disused and partly demolished) in the village of Rechnoe on the left (east) bank of the Volga in the village of Rechnoe. To its north is Mount Bogdo, revered by Buddhist Kalmyks, and with many fossils in its rocks. To its south the sacred lotus of the Buddhist Kalmyks can be seen growing in the waters of the Volga delta.
In Rostov oblast here are some settlements previously occupied mainly by the newer Buzaf clan of traditionally more russified and christianised Kalmyks who were also Cossacks. They were not allowed to reoccupy this area after their return from deportation.
In Stavropol krai to the south lies the spa resort of Yessentuki (Kalmyk: 'Ten Flags) in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, near Europe's highest peak, Mt Elbrus.
In the European part of the Republic of Kazakhstan can be found the town of Kalmykovo, looking across the Ural River at Asia.
And if you cross Kazakhstan to its border with China, you can meet the Oirats, living in Dzhungaria, part of Xingjiang province. They are those Kalmyks who did not wish to remain in Kalmykia when it was incorporated into the Russian Empire, so they returned home.
All these places occupy a small part of the former Kalmyk Empire that stretched from the Great Wall of China to the River Don in Europe, and from the forests of Siberia in the north to Tibet and the Himalayas in the south.

Do

The republic's national sport is (by the will of President Ilyumzhinov) chess and locals play throughout school. Pick up games in parks are easy to come by.

Fishing, hunting (especially geese, apparently)

Attend a performance of traditional Kalmyk dance

Horseback riding

Eat

Berk — Kalmyk traditional dumplings are larger and contain more meat than your average meat dumplings

Drink

Traditional Kalmyk drinks bear some similarity to those found in Mongolia, but are unique to the region. Try:

Dzhomba — milk tea with salt

Kumys — a sour horse milk that is considered a cure for respiratory diseases like tuberculosis, asthma, etc.

Araka — a milk vodka

Sleep

With tourism on the rise, travelers will have no difficulty finding good accommodation in Elista, although accommodations outside of the capital may be scarce or of lesser quality. It may be possible (and extremely rewarding) to arrange homestays in rural areas by asking around town or village centers.

Stay safe

Stay healthy

Kalmykia is known for its sunny weather and fresh air. However, visitors are advised not to drink tap water due to the high content of minerals and salt. Otherwise, Kalmykia offers a healthy environment, and delicious and fresh food — mutton and beef being specialties, also Caspian caviar, prized as far away as Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

This is a usable article. It gives a good overview of the region, its sights, and how to get in, as well as links to the main destinations, whose articles are similarly well developed. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!